Report: Britain pulls out spies as Russia, China crack Snowden files
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Version 0 of 1. LONDON — Britain has pulled out agents from live operations in “hostile countries” after Russia and China cracked top-secret information contained in files leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, the Sunday Times reported. MI6, Britain’s version of the CIA, has removed agents from certain countries, the newspaper said, citing unnamed officials at the office of British Prime Minister David Cameron, the Home Office (interior ministry) and security services. Snowden downloaded more than 1.7 million secret files from security agencies in the United States and Britain in 2013, and he leaked details about mass surveillance of phone and Internet communications to the news media, including The Washington Post. The United States wants him to stand trial. Moscow granted asylum to Snowden in 2013. Although he has claimed that the encrypted files remain secure, British authorities think Russia and China have cracked documents containing details that could allow British and U.S. spies to be identified, the newspaper said, citing officials. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Snowden has badly damaged the West’s ability to protect its citizens. “As to the specific allegations this morning, we never comment on operational intelligence matters, so I’m not going to talk about what we have or haven’t done in order to mitigate the effect of the Snowden revelations, but nobody should be in any doubt that Edward Snowden has caused immense damage,” he told Sky News. A person with the Home Office told the newspaper that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not grant Snowden asylum for nothing. “His documents were encrypted, but they weren’t completely secure, and we have now seen our agents and assets being targeted,” the person said. A person with British intelligence said Snowden had done “incalculable damage.” “In some cases, the agencies have been forced to intervene and lift their agents from operations to stop them being identified and killed,” that person was quoted as saying. British security agencies declined to comment, and the Russian and Chinese governments were not available for comment. The revelations about the impact of Snowden on intelligence operations come days after Britain’s terrorism law watchdog said the rules governing the security services’ abilities to spy on the public needed to be overhauled. Cameron has promised new security measures, including more powers to monitor Britons’ communications and online activity in what critics have dubbed a “snoopers’ charter.” |